@WhereIsMyKindle Fingers crossed for you that LOR writer gets it submitted tomorrow! I’d be going out of my mind. I was already going crazy yesterday, but it got submitted and I confirmed today that it was correct and all there.
Btw, The IU folks have been the most responsive we’ve dealt with to date.
@dfbdfb my D17 doesn’t ever want to miss school. But two weeks ago she was so stressed out between cheer and work and orchestra audition and two AP exams as well as her essays. She came in my room crying one night. She was completely overwhelmed. I told her to take the next day off and reluctantly she did. She felt the weight of the world lifted and she said it was the best decision.
@eandesmom- S17’s GC are former AOs and worked at various selective and highly selective schools over their careers. They don’t let the english teacher’s review the essays. The kids are required to drop off hard copies of the essays and the GC edit them at night. They have said that a college essay is so different than an essay for an English Lang or Lit class. Two different animals. When I heard they were reviewing the essays at night, rather than let the english teachers assist them, I knew they were serious in their recommendation. If it were me, I would speak to the editor about the feedback and get their point of view. Have the conversation when your child is not around because the last thing you want to happen is for her to become confused/ panicked about who she should listen to and you don’t want her confidence to slip or she’ll tentatively approach the rest of her essays. Last thought…you know your child best. When you read the essay do you hear her voice?
@carachel2 =D> Loved your response to the snarky comment about the lack of fancy acceptance package.
QOTD: I will leave it to S17 as to what/ when he decides to share but I won’t be sharing anything with family / friends (other than my parents) until the final decision is made. I had a discussion with S17 and told him I think he should keep an open mind, wait for all decisions to be in and then revisit the schools that accept him so he can decide between them. Once he has made a decision, he can share how the process worked out (acceptances, rejections, factors that led to his decision, etc). I just don’t want his decision influenced by others. We’ll see how he decides to handle it.
Hi everybody. I’ve been lurking here for awhile and have appreciated the shared experiences. Currently going through the college app process for the second and last time. First D15 applied to 14 schools, got accepted to 7, rejected at 4, wait listed at 3. I think D17 will be doing at least 16. Just curious how many schools others are applying to. Do your children have a clear cut top choice or are they flexible?
QOTD: Sharing
We are pretty open. I try not to bring admissions up; I’m afraid my obsession makes me too much of a bore.
But if anybody asks, I answer. D seems to be the same way.
I just have to make sure that I don’t answer when the question is for in D '17.
@socalmom007, no EA or ED here. But there are rolling admits so we won’t need to wait until March or April for admissions.
@chillkitty, my D15 applied to 9 and was accepted at all. S17 is applying to four or five. He is chasing Merit and not applying to any reach schools, so I expect a good outcome for his choices. He is leaning towards a couple of schools that shower the love on NMFs.
QOTD:
D has declared no social media sharing for acceptances, perhaps when she has decided for sure.
I/we share with most people IF they ask and IF they are a trusted friend (i.e. I do NOT share with some people I know who are just being genuinely nosey). I, too, fear I have become an obsessive bore about college stuff so I’ve cooled it a bit.
Does anyone here have 2 children in college at the same time? Did one of the schools double the amount of the original financial aid? Do both schools contribute to your aid? Very curious to know how FA works when you go from having one child at school to two?
No ED’s here but did do a rolling one a few months ago (MSU in Bozeman which is where D17 wants to go). It’s been a drama filled day here. The GC called D17 in to her office to tell her to apply to some more schools like UC’s and CSU’s (including Cal Poly which D is adamant about not wanting to go or to apply/be accepted at). Cal Poly is considered prestigious around here. That is the nail in the coffin as she does not want to go to a prestigious or elite school nor one in a wealthy area. I don’t see the point of applying at the UC’s because they don’t have great merit, and we wouldn’t qualify for the need based. And there is the added detail that she doesn’t want to go to a UC or stay in CA, for that matter.
The only reason she wouldn’t end up at MSU is if the finances don’t line up, but she should already have the 15k scholarship based on her stats and will work on some others. The school is a great fit for her. But she will apply to a couple more schools to appease her GC whom she obviously needs on her side this year (new GC - she was switched in August after 3 years with a GC she loved - grrrr). UA will be one due to the free tuition. Not sure on the others. I noticed CSULB has a merit scholarship for valedictorians. Her school doesn’t have those, but she does have a CR1. I wonder if that would count. We are still looking for another school or two with great merit (and no prestige that she is aware of - insert eye roll). I thought Temple might work (she hadn’t heard of it), but it looks like they nixed their great merit. And I told her to apply at the local CC (as an emergency back up if she couldn’t leave home for some reason). The GC’s want every senior to apply there.
The GC also suggested calling the MSU college of engineering/school of computing contact we have to get advice about whether she should retake the ACT (and study this time) to get her math score higher for competing for their departmental scholarships. That is probably a good idea, and something we’d been considering. It’s nice to have the back up of the GC on that.
We did tell people when she got into MSU. Though not a surprise, she was very excited about it.
@chillkitty I will have two in college next year, I believe my EFC was split in half between the kids.
@mtrosemom we have just a few rolling, but I figured her GPA would be stronger after this semester’s grades are in, so I was holding off on those apps for merit aide purposes. We’re still taking ACT one more time too, 10/22.
@chillkitty my daughter is applying to over 20, too many if I’m being honest. She and her boyfriend would like to stay within an hour of each other. He’s applying to some ivies and ivy level schools so he considers all of those a reach. They have contingencies for their contingencies. We’ve told her she can apply wherever she wants and we’ll sit down and make a decision in April, but it has to make sense for both of them.
Rolling/multiple QsOTD…
SCEA, EA, Early Scholarship Deadlines, and RD…there’s a deadline every month until Jan 2nd. No real front runner. If admitted to his SCEA school, he still plans to apply to at least two more via RD. Several will fall off the RD list if admitted SCEA, but not all. RD list may even be expanded if SCEA is a rejection. There’s a strategy, but it is somewhat fluid. Not applying to some schools we visited but then applying to others that we did not visit. May apply to as few as eight or as many as 12? 15?
Social Media/communications:
I posted on FB when older son was admitted to his ED school. He promptly untagged himself as he felt it was unseemly when many of his friends were not admitted to their ED choices. He didn’t mind if I posted it within my closed universe of FB; he just didn’t want his friends to see!
Current applicant is open with his friends. Many are applying to the same schools, and they represent an unusual cohort, so it will be interesting to see how it shakes out. There are several schools that he can see himself attending, so he is not being untruthful when he tells friends that there is not a clear first choice. He wears a sweatshirt from his brother’s college and I am sure many at HS believe he intends to go there, but it is quite low on his list.
I KNOW I am an obsessive bore about the entire college admission process. Need a new hobby…
@chillkitty Your question is not really answerable. Most schools don’t meet need, so # of kids in college just doesn’t matter. For some schools, they might increase institutional grant $$ slightly. Others might create a 60/60 split of family contribution so that your costs are 120%.
@socalmom007 --I cannot imagine layering in the one hour travel to boyfriend variable. There are enough moving pieces in this college admission process without that one! Good luck.
@chillkitty – I know very little about FA other than what I have read on CC, but I seem to recall some parents stating that EFC wasn’t exactly cut in half…more like 60% for each child. Best to verify my very sketchy recall. The FA forum here is populated by some extremely helpful and well-informed parents. (Not to imply that you will not receive great FA advice here also.)
EDIT: now that I see @Mom2aphysicsgeek saying 60/60 split, I will stand behind my sketchy recall! What I have read is that the only safe bet is completing the NPC.
Does anyone else follow Dean J @ UVA? Neither of my boys applied/will apply, but I subscribed to her blog posts as I found the info useful when I was starting out.
Just saw this interview pushed out on FB. I never knew what Dean J looked like. Not sure this will click through correctly.
https://www.facebook.com/UniversityofVirginia/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED
the xx’d out section is FB written out
Thanks @mom2aphysicsgeek and @ct1417 (we are CT dwellers, too!). I guess we’ll have to see where FA shakes out. That’s one of our strategies for applying to 16+ schools–you never know which school might come up with most aid. D15 got $22K from 2 schools, one ivy and one OOS public school. The other 5 schools offered $0!
@CT1417 believe me, I know! She’s always wanted to go to New York for college, now she’s willing to stay in Cali if he gets into UCLA, Stanford, or Berkeley. We’ve also had to find her choices in PA… its super complicated. My husband and I went to college together, so it’s hard to complain. Plus… it’s not like this boy is staying back at home to go to trade school, you know?
@chillkitty It shouldn’t be a mystery. Try running NPCs and see what they show. This article has some good info. http://www.thecollegesolution.com/schools-that-meet-100-of-financial-need-2/